Art of plate-printing



AMOS H. SMITILOF- BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

ART OF PLATE-PRINTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 538,750, dated May '7, 1895.

Application filed February 1, 1895. Serial No. 536.997. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AMOS H. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art of Plate-Printing; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain improvements in the art of plate printing.

The object of my invention is to gather from IS a plate, previously inked, the design, lines or engraving of said plate and transfer or superimpose in ink said design, lines or engraving of said plate upon the surface of another engraved plate, which has been previously inked, wiped and polished ready for printing, whereby, when the latter plateis printed from, it will produce a result which is in effect the combination of the design, lines or engraving of the two plates. To accomplish this I first z 5 prepare two plates, one an engraved plate, such as a bank note or draft plate in which the lines or designs are in intaglio, the other a plate or other suitable printing surface having a design preferably of engraved lines,

0 Which may be in relief or otherwise. The first or intaglio plateis then inked, wiped and polished ready for printing. The second plate is then inked either simultaneously with or after inking the first plate, and a surface,

preferably of gum or composition, applied to thesecond plate, and the design or engraved lines of said second plate transferred in ink to the gum or composition surface, which is in turn placed upon the surface of the first plate, which has been prepared as above stated, and the design, lines or engraving of the second plate transferred from the gum or composition surface to the surface of the first or intaglio plate, thus doubly inking the same 5 and causing it to carry the design of the two plates. The paper is then placed upon the first plate in the ordinary manner and the same run through the press, producing a result which is the combination of the design or engraving of the two plates in their respective shades and tints.

The transferring surface may be formed of any suitable gum, composition or other material which will take the inked design orlines from one plate and transfer the same to the other plate. Said transferring surface may also be a fiat surface, or may be in the form of a roller. This transferring surface, it will be noted, transfers from one plate and superimposes upon the surface of another the design, lines or engraving in its different shades and tints. This process simplifies the art of plate printing and greatly reduces the time and labor to be expended, particularly in printing bank notes, drafts, bonds or other securities.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The process of preparing a surface for printing,which consists in inking, wiping and polishing a plate having a design engraved thereon and then placing upon the surface of the plate a second design, substantially as set forth.

2. As an improvement in the art of plate printing, the process of superimposing upon an engraved plate, previously inked, wiped and polished, a design, tint or printing offset from a separate plate or other printing snr- 8o face, previously inked, and then printing from the first plate, substantially as set forth.

3. As an improvement in the art of plate printing, the process of offsetting a design, from a previously inked plate or other print- 8; ing surface, upon a transferring surface, then offsetting upon or transferring from the transferring surface to the surface of asecond engraved plate, also previously inked, wiped and polished, the lines, design or tint of the first plate, and then printing from said second plate, substantially as set forth.

4. As an improvement in the art of plate printing, the process of first inking, wiping and polishing an engraved plate, then inking 5 a second engraved plate or design, transferring the lines or design of the second plate to a transferring surface, then transferring said lines or design in ink from the transferring surface to the surface of the first plate, and too then printing from said first plate, substantially as set forth.

5. As an improvement in the art of plate printing, the process of first inking, wiping and polishing an engraved plate, and inking a second engraved plate or design, transferring the ink lines or design or tint of said second plate to a transferring surface, consisting of a gum or suitable composition, then transferring the said ink lines, design or tint from the transferring surface to the surface of the first plate, and then printing from the first plate, substantially as set forth.

6. As an improvement in the art of printing, the process of first engraving a plate in intaglio, and engraving or otherwise preparing a second plate in relief or otherwise, then 

